Good Call. It's interesting that you mentioned this stadium. I was on my way back from London City airport to South London in a taxi a couple of months back and went via the Olympic area. I noticed what looked several big stadium developments before seeing the main stadium. I figured one might be the velodrome, but couldn't weigh up what the other was. Perhaps this is what you are referring to? This would be ideal. Also would the Velodrome itself be another option? (like Stade Velodrome in Marseille).

QUestion is - Is anyone from the RFL doing anything whatsoever regarding this? Every other sport seems to be sniffing after summat. Would be a crying shame if Union steamrollers in - we might as well kiss goodbye to London then (and survival)

QUestion is - Is anyone from the RFL doing anything whatsoever regarding this? Every other sport seems to be sniffing after summat. Would be a crying shame if Union steamrollers in - we might as well kiss goodbye to London then (and survival)

Greetings 3,331 was the average at the Valley 2000-20013,681 was the average at Griffin Park 2002-20053,625 is the current average at the Stoop 2005-2010

Moving or changing our name will change nothing.

According to the RFL, there are 1,000,000 people in the London area with an interest in RL. This is just one target audience. Then you have the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (2001 poulation 175,000), the surrounding areas of Ealing, Hounslow, Feltham, Brentford.Then there's the ANZACS, who although they have proved difficult to attract, did turn up in force in 2005 (v Leeds, Griffin Park, 6,500) when the club ran a VB promo in METRO. The RFL marketed the WCC warm up game in 2009 and got nearly 7,000 to a game....Quins did SFA with this data......no change there then.

The simple fact is that unless there is a substantial injection of cash to promote the game, then all the time and effort (as well as considerable funding) that has gone into development and community work will be for nothing.

What Quins need is a total change of management, to bin the community/development work they have carried out on behalf of the RFL at no expense to the RFL and concentrate on turning a profit. Who, in their right mind would be happy to invest 10,000,000 over 10 years in a business that is currently losing 30k a week and doing nothing to stop the losses apart from letting staff go?IMO that is.

Very interesting post especially the figures at the beginning. Can I also add in regard to the bit about the ANZACS the good crowd and atmosphere at the Aus v NZ game in the four Nations?

Renting a Soccer stadiumTo give you some idea of the sums of money involved Saracens pay £ 489,000 per year to rent Watfiord's Vicarage Road (and Watford want more) http://www.watfordob...n_by_September/So you take this chunk of money out of the Sky money and any sponsorship deal and then try to spend up to the salary cap limit and fund junior development on the crowds Harlequins RL gets. You can see where David Hughes has spent the alleged £ 7 million subsidising the club since 2003. You can also see why even David's deep pockets are now finite.

Can you relaunch a failed productOne stat missed out London Broncos averaged 5,418 at the Valley in 1996 this had dropped to 2,935 by 1999 at The Stoop - That represents a loss of 46% of the audience in the first four years. Since then if you take Gutterfax statistics the attendances have flatlined over the last decade. So you would have to ask is there an audience out there and how many products can succesfully be relaunched a Third time.

It's all about PublicityObviously some people do not spend much time walking around Twickenham. Otherwise you might have come across the advert promoting "Your Team - Your Quins". Problem is Quins was is and always will mean the Rugby Union team to the extent that it was admitted by Keith Hogg at one of the fans forums that upon seeing polo shirts with the words Harlequins RL kids were enthusiastic at meeting coaching staff from Harlequins Rugby Lessons. As I have posted previously as the League club now pays a commercial rent for the use of the Stoop and there is no talk of a merger between the two clubs so therefore - and I stand to be corrected on this - since 2009 there has been no impediment to the Club changing its name or colours to achieve brand diferentiation. Even if the end result is the MK Broncos (with Cheerleaders - "The Bucks Fizz"...).

I am an oil trader and successful at that but, but marketing, finance, business management, human resources etc are not my strengths

12 months ago standing empty- Milton KEYNES national hockey stadium- EX HOME OF THE mk dons .Modern, upto Football/Superleague standards -all seater ,great community facilitiesnext to railway station, on the London Euston line to North west England!,near to M1.

Now flattened to the ground and being built on as the new offices of network rail.-national HQ!

Greetings 3,331 was the average at the Valley 2000-20013,681 was the average at Griffin Park 2002-20053,625 is the current average at the Stoop 2005-2010

Moving or changing our name will change nothing.

According to the RFL, there are 1,000,000 people in the London area with an interest in RL. This is just one target audience. Then you have the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (2001 poulation 175,000), the surrounding areas of Ealing, Hounslow, Feltham, Brentford.Then there's the ANZACS, who although they have proved difficult to attract, did turn up in force in 2005 (v Leeds, Griffin Park, 6,500) when the club ran a VB promo in METRO. The RFL marketed the WCC warm up game in 2009 and got nearly 7,000 to a game....Quins did SFA with this data......no change there then.

The simple fact is that unless there is a substantial injection of cash to promote the game, then all the time and effort (as well as considerable funding) that has gone into development and community work will be for nothing.

Who, in their right mind would be happy to invest 10,000,000 over 10 years in a business that is currently losing 30k a week and doing nothing to stop the losses apart from letting staff go?

What Quins need is a total change of management, to bin the community/development work they have carried out on behalf of the RFL at no expense to the RFL and concentrate on turning a profit. IMO that is.

What is the current average at the Stoop?

To be honest I've never thought crowds announced to be accurate at the Stoop. Many of them appear to have been inflated

After having been to all London stadiums in the last 15 years, the crowds at the Stoop have always been the worst

the velodrome at the olympic site looks great.. and yes there is going to be a hockey stadium and also an indoor arena to host the basketball.. was talking to a friend about this the other day, who works very close to certain people involved on the olympic build.. he suggested to me the hockey pitch would be a good idea for a RL side looking at a new home. would need a bit of work due to the sizes of the respective pitches, but the olympic comittee/goverment will be looking for as many ways as possible to maximise the usage of such things after the games (ie to sell them if possible!). if someone at the RFL hasnt been in touch with people at the olympic site, they really should. not just regarding a possible RL side based there, but also with regards to RL using the major stadia for one-off events. Essex cricket are hoping to stage certain 20/20 games there throughout the summer, so any RFL action would need to move fast.

apparently saracens are being kicked out of watfords ground.. wonder if the RFL/Quins have thought of a crosscode ground share with them somewhere..

It's all about PublicityObviously some people do not spend much time walking around Twickenham. Otherwise you might have come across the advert promoting "Your Team - Your Quins". Problem is Quins was is and always will mean the Rugby Union team to the extent that it was admitted by Keith Hogg at one of the fans forums that upon seeing polo shirts with the words Harlequins RL kids were enthusiastic at meeting coaching staff from Harlequins Rugby Lessons. As I have posted previously as the League club now pays a commercial rent for the use of the Stoop and there is no talk of a merger between the two clubs so therefore - and I stand to be corrected on this - since 2009 there has been no impediment to the Club changing its name or colours to achieve brand diferentiation. Even if the end result is the MK Broncos (with Cheerleaders - "The Bucks Fizz"...).

This rather sad story was entirely predictable. I seem to be recall being called a miserable git at the time when I pointed out that losing the Broncos tag would be a disaster.

Quins RL have to start by losing the Quins RL name. Until they do that any brand building effort they put in will be wasted. It was a stupid idea in the first place.